SiriusXM has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought on by former interns at the satellite radio giant. In court papers filed Monday in a Manhattan federal court, Sirius agreed to pay about $1.3 million over complaints it violated U.S. labor laws by not paying interns who claimed they were doing the same work as paid employees, Reuters reports.
The more than 1,800 plaintiffs, who worked on Howard Stern’s show and other programs, claimed in their lawsuit that although their work was “mundane and repetitive,” it was “nonetheless essential to Sirius XM’s operations, and thus undeniably reduced the need for additional paid employees.”
Though Sirius defended the intern program as a way to mentor young people, the complaint alleged that “interns were not provided any training similar to an educational environment.”
Sirius maintains that the unpaid intern program was legal, but decided to settle rather than move forward with more costly litigation. The proposed settlement still needs to be approved by a judge.
